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Communication system and methodCommunication system and method description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080013704, Communication system and method. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001]The present invention relates generally to the field of communications. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0002]Communication devices are generally either personal communication devices or shared communication devices. Personal communication devices are generally operated by a single person and communications established to such devices are typically answered only by that person. Shared communication devices, on the other hand, may operated by, and communications established to such devices may be answered by, any authorized person within the vicinity of the device. [0003]An example of a shared communication device is a household landline telephone. An example of a personal communication device is a mobile telephone. [0004]Take, by way of example, a typical scenario of a family household, having a shared landline telephone available for use by all members of the family. Each member of the family may make calls therefrom and answer calls made thereto if they are suitably available. As is also common nowadays, some or all of the members of the family may also have a personal communication device such as a mobile telephone. [0005]Despite the fact that most or every family member may have a mobile telephone, it is in many cases desirable to call a family member on the shared family phone rather than via that family member's mobile telephone. This desire may be due for a number of reasons. For example, calls made to landline telephones may be considerably cheaper than calls made to mobile telephones. Additionally, from a social point of view, a caller may have a desire to speak to someone of the household, without having a specific desire to speak to anyone in particular. A caller may also wish to speak to more than one family member during the same telephone call. [0006]Currently, however, a caller calling a shared telephone has no way of knowing who is available at that shared device. Generally, the best a caller can do is to use some personal knowledge, such as by knowing at what times different family members are likely to be present, and applying that knowledge to determine whether the desired person is likely to be available at the shared device. However, such an approach is somewhat unsatisfactory. [0007]Accordingly, one aim of the present invention is to overcome, or at least alleviate, at least some of the above-mentioned problems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008]According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining information relating to one or more users of one or more communication devices in a communication system. The method comprises receiving a request for information; retrieving data relating to an association between communication devices and users identified in the request; obtaining presence information relating to communication devices in the communication system; and supplying the information, the information being determined in part on the obtained presence information and in part on the retrieved association data. [0009]Advantageously the method enables diverse information to be determined, such as, for instance, information about which users are available at a given device, or on which devices a given user is available. [0010]According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for determining information relating to one or more users of one or more communication devices in a communication system. The apparatus comprises means for obtaining presence information relating to communication devices in the communication system, a database for storing data relating to communication devices and the users associated therewith, and means for supplying the information, the information being determined in part on the obtained presence information, and in part on the association data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011]Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0012]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a simplified view of a communication system according to the prior art; [0013]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a simplified view of a communication system according to one embodiment; [0014]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram outlining example processing steps according to one embodiment of the present invention. [0015]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram outlining example processing steps according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION [0016]Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a communication system 100 according to the prior art. A number of users 102a, 102b and 102c are shown. Each user 102a to 102c is associated with a communication device 104a to 104c and each communication devices is connected to a suitable network 106. Each of the communication devices 102a, 102b and 102c includes a presence application that enables a presence status indicative of the availability or willingness of the user of the device to partake in communications to be determined. The determined presence status is published to a presence server 108. Typical presence statuses include `available`, `in a meeting`, `do not disturb`, etc. and may additionally include user defined presence statuses. The communication devices 102a, 102b and 102c may be suitably an instant messaging application, a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) application, a smartphone, or the like. [0017]A user wishing to establish a communication with one of the users 102a, 102b or 102c may interrogate the presence server 108 prior to establishing the communication to determine the user's presence status. [0018]One problem with current presence systems is that they are generally only suitable for personal communication devices, since the presence status is based on the activity or availability of a single user having control of a device. [0019]Furthermore, many devices, such as conventional landline telephones and mobile telephones do not generally include presence applications, and therefore are typically unable to publish a presence status to a presence server. Continue reading about Communication system and method... Full patent description for Communication system and method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Communication system and method patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Communication system and method or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Telematic system with an automatic reconnection support Next Patent Application: Web-based and telephony-based automated notification method and system Industry Class: Telephonic communications ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Communication system and method patent info. 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